Finally, two regions (including variants of ZMIZ1 and TGFI1) showed intriguing functional overlap with the immune suppressive factor TGF-beta signaling pathway, important for the balance between Th17 and Treg cells, directly involved in JIA severity, and previously implicated by gene expression profiling as relevant for methotrexate response in JIA (Moncrieffe et al., 2010). This evidence concerns the gene ZMIZ1 and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.